The Definition of a Conceptual Information Map for the Management of the Digital Photographic Archive

David Iglésias Franch

Abstract

Numerical images talk by themselves, since they contain both the information of every single pixel in the image and the information that allows the interpretation of their totality in different devices: a camera, a screen, or a printer. There is no need for intermediaries apart from the ones that their digital nature imposes: hardware, software, technical specifications, etc. The rules that ensure the communication and the interrelation between all the actors that take part in this scenario are already known by all of them, and therefore, they constitute a solid although changing reality. This technological context that allows to visualize, to edit, or to print images does not seem to have defined boundaries. Any added functionality can be integrated in a digital object, not only without modifying its photographic essence, but also increasing its potential uses. This functional extendibility represents a fertile land for many disciplines, such as Archiving and Documentation among others.